The VIP Fringe World launch kicked off at the Perth Cultural Centre amid a sea of sauv blanc, a Spiegeltent and a 1,500-strong crowd.

The four-week festival has transformed the inner-city hub with strings of plastic-cases-come-light-fixtures, pop-up bars and circus-like venues.

In true Fringe style, what ensued under the Spiegeltent – Dutch for "mirror tent" - wasn't your ordinary arts launch - Colin Barnett made fun of the AFL, the welcome to country turned into a grilling of the Premier about indigenous education and the evening ended with the entire crowd stamping their feet.

Fringe World Festival kicks off!

Artrage CEO Marcus Canning's pride in what had been put together was obvious, but his attempt at a warm-up joke fell flat.

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Mr Canning said he felt uncomfortable giving thanks for the welcome to country, given the tent was on a nine-storey car park and was sure the Noongar people were happy leaving it to the City of Perth to manage.

He instead gave thanks for the land underneath the carpark, but you could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed.

Mr Canning's following words were heartfelt and said feedback from last year's Fringe showed that "86 per cent of people said it contributed to pride in their city", before crediting Premier Colin Barnett for his integral role in getting Fringe off the ground.

Mr Barnett took on more of a entertainer role for the evening and delivered a lively speech in which he said he was proud that in its first year, the festival had lured more than 100,000 people to its shows; something that had taken the AFL 70 years to attain for a final.

He thanked the City of Perth for a partnership "in which the only point of tension was the race to get out the media release first" and gave a nod to the government's $1.6 million investment in Fringe.

With the formalities out of the way, it was time for the Fringe "degustation", as put by the enigmatic MC Asha Treleavan from Comic Strip.

Eastend Cabaret and Movin' Melvin Brown filled the tent with laughter as they danced and sang their way through the audience and had the crowd enthusiastically stomping their feet in time to their shows.

Guests were invited to stay on in the "Urban Orchard" until 10pm. The crowd's enjoyment of the evening was obvious as the people leaving formed barely a trickle.

More than 1,500 shows will take place over the four week Fringe, between January 25 and February 24.